Getting younger and trimming their spending have been the prevailing trends of the 76ers’ offseason, and they continued that trend Friday night when they traded with Houston for second-year forward Royce White.

In the move, which was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Sixers also acquired the rights to Turkish center Furkan Aldemir, though it sounds like the 21-year-old will remain overseas for further grooming.

All the while, the Sixers surrendered only “future considerations”, which would probably end up being either a second-round draft pick or an overseas prospect to the Rockets.

In other words, the Sixers did Houston a favor — and here’s why.

Advertisement

White, a 6-8, 270-pounder who was the 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft, has yet to make his NBA debut. He did not play a single game for the Rockets last season. Instead, he suited up for their Development League team. At first, he refused the D-League assignment and picked up a suspension because of a “refusal to provide services” laid out in his contract. It’s also been reported that White battles anxiety issues and a persistent fear of flying.

Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, while with Houston, drafted White, so it’s assumed that Hinkie is well-versed in White’s eccentricities.

Due to make $1.71 million this season, White posted per-game averages of 11.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in 16 games with Rio Grande, the Rockets’ D-League affiliate. Further adding to his value is that White has two team option seasons beyond this season, so his contract is in effect an expiring one, should the low-risk, high-reward experiment fizzle for the Sixers.

White joins a revamped Sixers roster that includes Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel, for whom they traded on draft day, as well as draft picks Michael Carter-Williams and Arsalan Kazemi.